MISSION:
The Backbeat Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Louisiana non-profit corporation whose mission is to foster support of the rich New Orleans cultural heritage by providing assistance to local musical performers through both programming and resource assistance. The Foundation provides resources and support to musicians living and working in New Orleans to help ensure that the musical community and legacy of New Orleans has the opportunity to flourish again.  It is the Foundation’s goal to help New Orleans’ musicians achieve financial stability as musicians.

PURPOSE:
It has been recognized that the unique backbeat of New Orleans’ music has influenced jazz, blues, and rock and roll. Most music that is considered uniquely American has been influenced by the rhythms and tempos that pour out into the streets of this uniquely American city born of the merger of Spanish, French, African, and Caribbean cultures.  At the core of the city’s vitality is music. In New Orleans, music is the lifeblood of the culture, it accompanies both life and death, it celebrates and it mourns.  It is essential to the life and future of the city that music continues to permeate the air from every open door, window and street corner.

RECENT HONORS:

• 2006 Best of the Beat - “Heartbeat Award” given by Offbeat Magazine for “Keepin the Music Alive”.
• Common Ground Relief - “Award of Solidarity” for service to the recovery efforts of the Music Community of New Orleans.